


Help, I lost myself again

by onlyssca



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: M/M, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Psychic Bond, Will Byers-centric, powerful sibilings energy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:42:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21606247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyssca/pseuds/onlyssca
Summary: Ever since the upside down, Will had not been able to have a good night of sleep. Nightmares haunting him. He had resigned himself that he'd live with them for the rest of his life. But what if it didn't have to be like that?(sorry this summary sucks i promise the story is better)
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Will Byers & Dustin Henderson & Lucas Sinclair & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 16
Kudos: 93





	Help, I lost myself again

**Author's Note:**

> hiii, this is my first time writing byeler or anything stranger things related, so i apologise if they feel ooc. I tried my best.  
> I'd like to thank my friends from the clown town discord server who supported me and gave me the motivation to write, thanks. This fic is for you :)

Cold sweats. Always the same nightmares. This feeling of being petrified, trapped and so helpless. The sensation of not being quite himself. So lost in his mind. Was it even still his?

Burning fire in his shoulders. He didn’t have to be asleep to live, or sometimes relive, those horrors. The dark wasn’t necessary because he became the dark.

Freezing toes and fingers. The darkness started his trauma, and the trauma created more darkness. The only light he could reach was the one he produced when his heart made the tiniest of spark.

Hot pain in his lungs. And he could lie and say everything was fine. After all the absence of light in his chest became his normal.

The absence of air shocked him awake. He sat up, as electricity traveled his entire body. You’d think Will had gotten used to it after years of never ending nightmares, but he never did. If tears drop could be bottled, there would be oceans of sadness he could drown in and end it all.

He had stopped to sleep over at his friends. He always had been a people pleaser, so worry them was the last thing he wanted even if it meant he had to deal with the night waiting to eat him. Luckily for him, the idea of sleepovers slowly disappeared into thin air as he and his friends grew up.

Four sleeping bags in Mike’s basement became a bigger bed he could share with her. Laughter echoing in the Wheeler’s house became deafening silence in the Byers’s. Face hurting from smiling too much became back pain from all the burden on his shoulders.

From an outside prospective Will seemed completely fine. He was always a quite kid, so it made things easier. Sometimes someone like his mother or Mike would pick up on stuff. Like him spacing out for a moment, his breath quickening, a flicker of worry in his eyes, the goosebumps on his neck.

“Hey, are you okay?” Mike said pulling Will out of his trance.

“Yeah” They glanced at each other’s lips briefly.

“Are you sure?” The insistence warming Will’s stomach. _He cares._

“Of course.” Will immediately felt bad for lying to Mike. But he had to.

If there was a good part to it, which really there wasn’t but in Will’s messed up mind it kind of made sense, was the floating feeling in his body when he was on the verge of passing out. Sleep deprivation wasn’t the solution but it made him drunk, not that he really knew what it felt like but he assumed.

Normally sleep deprivation could damage you and make you feel terrible, but Will lived in a constant state of horrible. As weird as it sounds, what he loved the most was the feeling of falling. That freedom he felt as his limbs lost control and simply collapsed.

He quickly stopped this habit when he actually collapsed in front of people. It was a Wednesday, 3rd period, math class. He hadn’t had a good night of sleep in at least 2 weeks. The dark circles under his eyes should have made people suspicious. It kind of did but not enough to make them ask and Will liked it better that way.

The teacher, noticing Will wasn’t paying attention to the lesson, made him go to the blackboard to solve a problem.

Will got up and that was the first mistake that caused the following ones.

He saw blur and felt the entire room spin. The ground felt like jelly and the walls resembled heat waves. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. And there it was again. That feeling of floating that Will craved. Except in reality he wasn’t floating, he was falling. For him it felt infinite but for everyone else it felt like seconds. He was briefly up then so suddenly hit the floor, hard. Will felt the cold tilled floor beneath him then. Nothing. Black out.

Will wished he could’ve stayed like this forever. It felt like sleep but it was so much more peaceful. Unfortunately, a second later, no matter how much actual time had passed, he opened his eyes, brightness blinding him. If he looked at the light long enough he could see stars. Then a shadow covered his face. It took a minute for his eyes to focus but as soon as he saw the figure in front of him he smiled. His heart rate rose a little, skipping a beat here and there. The euphoric feeling coming back but or a totally different reason this time.

Mike Wheeler, kneeled by his side, hovering his body. Will was so out of it that he would only later realize that his best friend was holding his hand, clinging to it as if Will’s body would liquefy if he ever let go. What he did notice was his face, the halo of light behind his head made him look like an angel. _Did I finally die?_ Will thought. He saw his lips move but no sound followed. His eyes wandered across his face, until his met Mike’s big brown glossy ones. Mike’s wet eyes screamed worry, but Will couldn’t hear it. All he perceived was the familiarity, and reassurance of still being seen.

“Mike…” Will’s speech was barely audible over the whispering of the rest of the student all around them. Lucas and Dustin stood right behind Mike. The looks on their face was just as worried as Mike’s.

“Will” Mike’s mouth stayed open.

“Have you always had those stars in your eyes?” Will said, beaming at Mike who let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding then the teacher finally spoke.

“Alright, alright. Please step away from him, let him breathe.” He approached the lying boy and gestured with his hands for the others to get back. The circle around Will grew larger, but Mike didn’t move an inch. “Come on Mike-“

“No!” Mike yelled, his eyes not leaving Will who closed his eyes but did not opened them again. Now Mike was scared. His head snapped in the teacher’s direction. He couldn’t understand how the man could stay so calm when his best friend was, in Mike’s mind, clearly dying. “Call an ambulance, dipshit!” Mike spat out. This comment would’ve normally cause him trouble but the situation made the teacher brush it off.

From then on until the hospital, Will went from conscious to unconscious every 5 minutes. Flash of red and blue, and a warm hand in his was all he could manage to remember from the ride to the hospital. Something freezing entered his veins then blackout again, this time for hours.

The sound of the heart monitor echoed in the room. The half-open door let footsteps of people and doctors be heard in the room. After an hour of pacing the room Mike had finally sat down in the chair next to Will’s bed. Joyce, who had arrived only a couple minutes after the ambulance, had offered to give Mike a ride home. He politely refused and insisted on being there as well. She sat in next to Mike whose leg’s was bouncing up and down.

Will’s pulse raising could be heard through the monitor. Both Mike and Joyce looked up. His heart beat kept going up, making so much noise in the room until he jolted awake and his heart slowed down as his breathing deepened. The lanky boy quickly stood up and the petite woman threw herself in her son’s arms. Will barely had the time to process what was happening.

“Hi,” she said, her hands on each side of his face. “I’m gonna get the nurse” she kissed his forehead then left.

Will looked around the room and his eyes met Mike’s. He got closer to the bed. Will scooted over a little in the white sheets, to let his oldest friend sit. “What happened?” Will asked watching him get on the hospital bed.

“You passed out in math class” Mike said calmly, looking at his feet.

“I told you math was boring” Will chuckled. Mike stayed quiet. Will was frowning. “hey... it’s okay, I’m ok—”

“I’m sorry” He almost whispered. How can Mike be sorry? Will inflicted this to himself, he was the one self-destructing. “I haven’t been there for you lately” Will shook his head.

“No, it’s not- you didn’t have to be” Will tried to reassure him.

“Yes I did! I’m your best friend a-and I haven’t acted like I am in these past few months. I should’ve played d&d with you, I should’ve gone to the movies more often, I shouldn’t have respected that fucking curfew, and stayed longer with you guys, ugh” Will stayed silent while Mike was word-vomiting and he wasn’t done yet. “Maybe… If I had been there for you, with you, you wouldn’t have…”

“I did not die, Mike”

“You could’ve!” Mike finally looked up.

“You can’t die from sleep deprivation” Will said, avoiding Mike’s gaze.

“If given enough time, sleep deprivation _can_ kill you”

“Yeah, well, I would’ve stop before that. I wouldn’t have gone _this_ far” Will said.

“How am I supposed to know that?” The room fell silent. They both became really aware of the beep coming from the machine. They held each other’s gaze before Mike broke it and looked at the catheter in Will’s left hand. “Why did you even start doing that?”

A couple more seconds of silence before Will’s shaky voice whispered “Nightmares…”

“That bad?” Mike said, worried.

Will stayed still. He couldn’t go back there. Talking about it would mean bring the dark into the light. But he was scared that the dark would swallow the light. A single tear fell down his red cheek. “You have no idea”

They got interrupted by the nurse and Joyce coming back. She checked his vitals, and the doctor prescribed him sleeping pills and vitamins. Will had to stay the night at the hospital to make sure he got some sleep before going home. Mike wanted to stay but as soon as Jonathan arrived Joyce insisted on giving him a ride home.

The next day, at school, Mike explained everything to Lucas, Dustin and Max, who hadn’t been in the same class that period. They wanted to visit him or something but Dustin pointed out that it would be better if they let him rest. That evening he went to the cabin to talk to El. She had heard about the news from Hopper, who had talked to Joyce. They didn’t talk much that evening –not that they usually did, they much preferred making out– instead Mike simply laid his head on El’s lap and cried. If he rationalized all of the events, it wasn’t that bad –not upside down kind of bad- but for some reason he needed to cry. El simply stroked his hair and waited for him to calm down.

Weeks passed and Will’s nightmares were never mentioned after that. He stopped forcing himself to stay awake to avoid any other incident. He simply accepted the fact that he’ll live the rest of his life waking up swimming in his own tears and sweat, with his heart out of his body and burning lungs.

While Will’s nightmares stayed the same, a lot of things changed in he and his friends lives. Mike and El broke up. Contrary to popular believes, they were okay, not sad. Hopper and Joyce started dating which meant that not one but two people were added to his family. His brother went to college. El started going to school with them and they started high school. They met Suzie once. 

The first time it happened, no one paid attention to it, because it could’ve happened to anybody. I could simply have been a coincidence. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t.

They were all six in Mike’s basement, a dumb movie on the television that nobody was even watching. It was more of a background noise. The girls were on the sofa. El was braiding Max’s hair. She had gotten quite good at it now. She used to train on herself or even on Will at home. She couldn’t anymore because his hair wasn’t as long.

They now had been living together for 2 years. At first it was weird. Will wasn’t used to living with a girl, he had always known what having a brother was like but El felt completely different. Sure, his mother is a woman but it’s not the same. However, they quickly connected, and became quite the pair.

Dustin, Mike and Lucas played Uno on the floor and Will was sat against the sofa, drawing the scene. If El had gotten quite good at braiding hair, Will’s drawing skills exploded expectations. He actually considered, once or twice, studying art when he’s done with high school. After all, every great artist is a little messed up, right?

His eyes were right on the boys, so it wasn’t hard for him to notice Mike cheating by hiding a card beneath another one to get rid of it. His eyes went back to his drawing. He wasn’t going to say anything but before he knew it his mouth opened and started talking except, his voice echoed and mixed with someone else’s.

“Mike, you cheated I saw you. Cheating is bad.” El and Will’s voices became one as they speak at the same time. The exact same sentence. Words for words.

They immediately looked at each other -confusion painted on both of the teen’s face- and so did the rest of the party.

“Wow, that was weird.” Max said. But weirdness to it was brushed off when Dustin replied.

“You guys spend too much time with each other, you’re starting to sound like the twins from the shining.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you cheated Mike. Take seven more cards” Lucas said changing the subject.

“SEVEN! That’s harsh, I already have _20_ in my hand!” Mike said dramatically.

The evening went back to normal after that. Except for the glances between Mike and Will, here and there. But it had become their normal at this point.

Will knew he’s had a crush on his best friend since forever. But recently he wasn’t so sure. It wasn’t just a crush anymore. Will was pretty sure he was in love with Mike. He used to shiver when their hands touch, now he craved his touch. He would’ve blushed if they ended up being really close, now his entire body radiated heat. Being with Mike used to give him butterfly in his stomach, now whenever he was around he could feel firework in his chest.

Those feelings he kept them deep, deep, down in his heart. It wasn’t just out of the fear of rejection but also because those feelings became so strong that, sometimes at night, if they were buried deep enough, beneath the darkness, he could use them to block the nightmares away for a couple hours. And it was good enough. Until it became _the worst_.

Like every night, Will brushed his teeth in the bathroom with El before going to bed. Sometimes Will would go into the bathroom and start laughing, remembering that time where he and his sister had a toothpaste fight. Joyce was not happy about it. But it was still one of his favorite memories. When they finished, they said goodnight to each other then go to their respective room to sleep.

When he woke up from a nightmare he’d always try to not scream or breathe too loud so he wouldn’t wake anyone. And so far it had worked. After living together for so long Will was surprised that El hadn’t find out about his nightmares. He had lived with his mother and Jonathan for way longer than that but he came to the conclusion that somehow he and her, were connected somehow. He assumed it had something to do with the upside down, because they had both gone there. But then again that didn’t make sense either because Nancy, his mom and even Hopper had been there. And he definitely didn’t share that bond with any of them.

Once in his room he settled on his bed. After reading a comic book or two he drifted to sleep. No darkness in sight. Will felt so relieved when he saw freckles. It was going to be one of those extremely rare night where he could enjoy his feelings, show them, feel them, embraced them. In those dreams it was just him and Mike, floating through time and space, sharing body heat as their limbs tangled, mixing green and brown, hearts beating in sync.

That’s how it _usually_ went.

Will was so caught up in happiness that he didn’t notice everything losing its color and brightness. Dark smoke lurked on the floor, spreading in Will’s mind. He started to worry when he felt Mike’s skin getting colder. He looked up at his now freckle-less white face. His hair was darker than usual, and his nails had grown an inch. Will felt them scratch his back. Will’s big green eye looked for Mike’s but he couldn’t find them. Mike’s face features disappeared. It wasn’t Mike, its legs and arms grew lankier. The only thing will could feel at this moment was fear and the Thing’s nails digging in his back, making him bleed.

He turned his head to find the real Mike sat in the corner of his room, hugging his knees. He looked terrified. In the blink of an eye, his and Mike’s body had switched. He was now the one in the corner watching the creature torturing his best friend. He could not move. He was petrified. He could only scream, but the sound didn’t want to come out. His vocal chords were about to explode, yet no sound came out, like he was under water.

Soon the pale body of friend became lifeless and his greyish skin became dark red liquid. The bloody mess in front of him felt like hours. When there was nothing left of Mike the nightmares started all over again. Again and again and again, until Will’s body couldn’t take it and shocked him awake.

At the same time, in the room down the hall. El woke up sweating.

Will almost let out a scream that nigh. This nightmare was so much more traumatizing than the thousands others he’d had. He took a couple of seconds to calm himself, it felt so real. The cold, the thing, Mike. _Mike_. Will threw himself out of bed. He stumbled on the floor and thought for a second. _What was he gonna do anyway?_ Then it struck him. El.

He opened his door as fast as he could. He was about to go to El’s room and pond on her door. But he didn’t have to because as soon as he looked up his eyes met hers. She was on her way to his room. They stood there for a minute, until he broke the silence.

“Sorry, I woke you up” Will whispered. Though he could’ve sworn he didn’t scream.

“No. I just-” Her gaze wandered to the floor, thinking. “Are you okay?” She asked now looking at him in the eyes.

“Yes, I just” He saw her frowning then realized that lying to her won’t lead him anywhere. “Actually, no and I need your help” He took her wrist in his hand and yanked her into his room.

He closed the door behind them and led her to his bed. They sat down. Will took a deep breath before speaking.

“I need you to find Mike.” He handed her his walkie-talkie and a scarf. She took a moment to think. She did not hesitate; she knew Will was being serious she could feel it. She looked around the room, and stopped when she found his radio. She stood up walked towards it.

“It’ll work better with this” She said turning it on and choosing a channel with statics. She came back on the bed, sat legs crossed, in front of her adoptive brother.

It didn’t take too long because El knew exactly where to find him. Her mind traveled into the void, where she found Mike sleeping in his bed.

“I found him” She said.

“Is he okay?” Will asked. Her feet splashed the water as she walked towards him. He was asleep and looked peaceful.

“He’s asleep” She answered. Will saw a flash of his nightmare when he blinked.

“Are you sure? Is he breathing?” Will starting to get paranoid. The brunette took he blind fold off. She looked at Will who was shaking. She took his hands in hers, trying to calm him down. He looked down at their hands.

 _He’s okay._ She thought.

“How can you be so sure?” He said.

“Wait you heard me say that?” She looked muddled.

“Well yeah, you just spoke” Now Will was confused. She took his chin and made him look at her.

 _Actually, I didn’t._ She thought.

 _What the fuck?_ He thought. His eyes widened.

 _Yeah, what the fuck._ She slowly nodded with eyes as big as his.

They waited a couple of seconds, their minds blank. Then El looked back at the radio.

“Do you trust me?” She asked. Getting closer to him.

“Of course, always” He said sincerely. She nodded and put the blindfold in his hand. She figured he’d need it more than her, as she was used to doing it. He hesitated for a second. What she was implying meant that he… but then again how do you explain what just happened between them? So he took it and tied it behind his head and relaxed. El linked their hands. He could hear her clearly in his mind.

_Okay, relax and concentrate on the statics. Let it enter your head. Now think about Mike. It’s easier when you know the person and where to find them in the first place._

_Okay._

El did it as well and tried her best to guide him to find the void. After some concentration and El’s help, Will opened his eyes to see, nothing but El. Her body was clear but the rest was nothingness, except for the inch of water beneath his feet. Smithereens of memories came to him. This place he had seen it before. A couple of years ago when he went missing in the upside down, El came to him, in castle Byers. And for a moment he saw that place.

“It worked!” Will couldn’t believe it. He saw El nodding, a big smile on her face.

He turned around and saw Mike’s bed. As he approached it, his vision got clearer. He saw Mike fast asleep. The mess of his hair on his pillow, and some stands of it stuck on his forehead. His lips looked wet, like he had been drooling. His right cheek was red and had the impression of his pillow on it. He looked more than okay.

His hand tried to reach for Mike but El intercepted his wrist. “It doesn’t work like that here” She said, letting go of him. He looked confused but then she waved her hand through Mike and he turned into smoke which disappeared quickly after that.

He took the blindfold off and suddenly felt tiered. He watched El getting back to herself, their eyes met and you could read on both their face. _Holy shit, that just happened!_ Will didn’t feel it but realized what it was when this metallic taste run on his lips. He brought his fingers to his nose. Bloody fingers.

The next day at school, when greeting everyone Will hugged Mike. Taken aback at first, Mike proceeded to putt his arms around Will. As soon as Will felt him reciprocate the embrace, he tightened his grip. They stayed in each other’s arms for a bit too long, forgetting their friends standing aside. Will’s head rested on Mike’s chest, able to hear his heart beat. He sighted in his friend blue sweater. He put one hand on one of Will’s shoulder and pushed it a little allowing both of them to look at each other.

“Is everything alright?” Mike said raising one eyebrow. Will opened his mouth, looked around them suddenly aware of their friends looking at them. He pulled away, put his hands on the straps of his backpack.

“Y-Yeah, sorry” He chuckled. Mike gave him a playful look.

Dustin, from behind, put his arms around both of his friends. He walked between them, making them follow him. “Come on lovebirds, we’re gonna be late for class, and science doesn’t wait!” He said a bit too loud. Mike laughed and shook his head while Will blushed and looked at his feet trying not to trip.

He was grateful that El didn’t mention last night at school. As much as it was exciting to discover that Will might have powers and that they could now communicate by thought, if Will wanted to reveal their discovery, he’d have to explain the context and he’d rather not. That didn’t mean that they didn’t talk about it or rather think about it.

In English class they sat next to each other. The teacher asked them to read a passage of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the book they were studying this year. Everyone was silent the only sound in the classroom was the turning pages.

 _Ugh this is so boring!_ He thought, looking up at the ceiling.

 _It’s not that bad._ El responded.

 _Shit! I forgot you could hear every of my thought._ Will looked at her.

 _Not every single one._ She felt his eyes on her so she looked back at him.

_You’re sure? How can you tell? Do you think we can control it?_

_Okay slow down you’re drowning my brain with all your thoughts._ She raised her eyebrows and closed her eyes for a bit.

 _Sorry._ He pinched his lips

 _I mean I don’t know for sure, but I’m pretty sure you were thinking something when you hugged Mike this morning. But I couldn’t hear anything. So there must be a way to control it. We just don’t know how yet._ Will blushed, trying to block every thoughts of Mike he could have right now in case El could hear, or see.

 _You’re right, we’ve been living without hearing each other’s thoughts before. I guess it got activated somehow._ Will tried his best to smoothly avoid the subject of Mike. Especially with her.

_Probably._

“Are you guys okay? You’ve been staring at each other for the past two minutes” Lucas interrupted them. Both of them turned towards Lucas.

“Brother-sister rivalry” Will spat out. El nodding fanatically behind Will.

“Right…” Lucas squinted his eyes.

Lunch period conversation started with everyone complaining about their upcoming tests, then shifted to small other subjects. Sometimes Will or El would comment something in their mind and the other would try not to start laughing. While the others kept arguing on whether Batman or Superman was stronger, Mike turned to Will who was toying with his pudding, it looked weird and unappealing.

“Hey Will, I um, I was wondering if you wanted to go back to my house to help me with something?” Mike said, watching his fingers playing with the hem of his sweater.

“Yeah sure! How do you want me- I-I mean what do you need me for?” Will stuttered. His ears reddened with embarrassment. _Really smooth Will!_ He thought to himself. El couldn’t help but smile.

 _Yeah real smooth Byers._ He could almost hear her giggle. She read the realization on his face. _That’s fine you know, we don’t have to figure out how this works today, if you want to go; go ahead._

“Just to help me with a campaign I’m working on” Mike said.

“You’re working on a campaign?” He sounded surprised. “We haven’t played d&d for years” Will said.

“Yeah, I know. I just, thought it’d be nice to play one more time. Nostalgia, y’know” Mike said grabbing apple and took a bite.

“Nostalgia.” Will repeated, smiling. Their eyes stayed locked on each other for a moment making them both smile.

“What about Wonder Woman?” Max said.

“What? No she can’t-” Lucas starting to say.

“Oh! Because she’s a girl you think she wouldn’t win?!” Max interrupted him. Her eyebrows were raised above her big blue eyes.

“Yes” Lucas started saying but Max’s ‘are you kidding me’ face, made him explain. “I mean, yes she wouldn’t win but NOT because she’s a woman” He said using his hands in the air unconsciously to make himself clearer. 

“Right.” She rolled her eyes and sat back against the chair. By then Mike and Will were back in the conversation to witness the couple argue. The bell rang and Max sat up quickly and walked towards the cafeteria’s exit doors. El followed her giving the boys an apologetic look.

“I’m dead, aren’t I?” Lucas said his head in his hands.

“Yep” Dustin said.

“Oh, totally” Mike said patting his friend’s shoulder.

“Sorry, dude” Will said, shrugging. All three stood up and left.

After the last bell of the day rang, the party went their different way home. Will following Mike. They playfully raced each other for a minute, then Mike looped around Will until they both passed in front of each other, creating an invisible DNA shape on the road.

They left their bikes outside, next to the Wheelers’ car. Karen’s probably, Will thought. They entered through the basement door. Will knew this room like the back of his hand. He had so many good memories here. A couple of bad ones, but it was nothing compared to the 10 hours afternoons spent playing games or watching movies.

Mike closed the door behind them and was heading towards the couch. Will looked around the room and noticed one of his drawing on the wall. He wasn’t a stranger to seeing his drawing here. Since he started drawing he always gave Mike some of them, and he liked them so much that he’d hang them everywhere in the house. Once he put one or two on the fridge without saying anything to anybody, and for at least 5 month Karen Wheeler thought her son was some kind of art prodigy. 

As Will got closer to the art piece on the wall, he realized it was a recent one. It was the one he did when the boys were playing Uno and Mike had cheated. He forgot about it and left it there. Mike probably assumed Will left it for him and hung it.

“You’re still hanging those?” Will asked, pointing at the paper sheet. Mike turned around to face him. His fingers dropped from his lips.

“Um? Oh yeah, always” Mike said, like it was the thing he was the surest in the world. Will beamed at that. “I mean, it makes the place friendlier” Mike bit his lips, his tone made the sentence sound like he was trying to convince himself. Will chuckled and nodded.

“Mike? Is that you?” A feminine voice came from upstairs.

“No mom, it’s Santa Claus. Yeah it’s me!” He yelled back. The basement door opened.

“Michael! What did I tell you ab- oh, Will!” She looked surprised. Her voice went from sharp to sweet as soon as she noticed Will.

“Hi Ms. Wheeler” He answered politely. “I hope I’m not bothering you”

“Oh, don’t be silly, of course not!” She waved her hand. “Are you staying for dinner?” She asked calmly. Her voice was low and friendly. Will looked at Mike then back at the woman.

“Um, thanks but I think my mom wants me home tonight.” He told her. He knew that if he stayed for dinner Mike would ask him to stay the night. He would’ve loved to, but he told El they’d try to figure out their mind connection, and he didn’t want to scare or worry Mike with his nightmares.

“Okay, does she know you’re here or do you want me to make a call?” She turned her shoulder to the kitchen.

“No it’s fine. I’m sure El told her already”

“Well then, there are snacks in the kitchen if either of you is hungry. I’ll be in the living room if you need me” She smiled.

“Okay thanks mom” Mike said as she closed the door.

Mike kneeled down and looked through a bunch of tapes laying around next to his radio. He picked up the one labeled ‘For Mike’. A couple years back Will really got into music, thanks to his brother who introduced him to a couple of his favorite bands and from then Will’s music taste grew and now he sometimes made Jonathan listen to music he had never heard of. One day he decided to make a mixtape for each of his friends, which they all appreciated and surprisingly all loved. It’s like Will knew exactly what songs would fit his friends’ personalities.

“Wait, I’ve actually made you a new one” He let his backpack slid along his arms. He zipped it open and took out a small tape. This one had ‘Mixtape update x’ written on it. He handed it to Mike, their fingers brushed for a moment.

“Thanks” Mike said smiling. He took a second to look at it closely. He noticed his name wasn’t written on it. Maybe he made the same for everyone this time. “Is this one also different from the others’?” He asked looking up.

“What?” Will looked a little lost.

“My name’s not on it, so I thought that maybe you made the same for everyone this time.” Mike clarified.

“Oh. No, actually I only made one for you” Will confessed, a little embarrassed, avoiding eye contact.

“Oh.” Mike’s smile could be heard in his voice. After a second of smiling, Mike slid the tape in the radio. Soft upbeat getting louder, leading up to Tiffany’s voice singing. Mike chortled, recognizing the song ‘I think we’re alone now’. “Quite fitting” He said, standing up.

“Yeah, well, not every song on this is a masterpiece. Sometimes there are just nice an-” Will spoke really fast and didn’t see Mike walk towards him. He took both his hands in his which made Will stop talking.

“Hey, I like it” He reassured the smaller boy.

Will’s lips parted; his eyes looking at Mike’s loving gaze, through his eyelashes. They were so close their chest could almost touch. Mike’s thumb stroked the back of Will’s hand. Will was now painfully aware of his heart beating faster. Just like in the song in the background, there was a tension building between them. Then the chorus hit and Mike started lip syncing.

“I think we’re alone now” He made faces as he silently sang. Will failed to hide his smile by pinching his lips together.

“Doesn’t seem to be anyone around” Mike moved his shoulders up and down to the rhythm. The green eyed boy slowly shook his head.

“I think we’re alone now” He nodded his head, moving their linked hands above their heads, encouraging Will to join him. He only responded with big eyes and a small smirk. Then immediately sang the next part.

“The beating of our hearts is the only sound” Will dramatically grabbed his shirt over his heart. They both laughed then continued to dance and sing along the 1987 pop song. Throwing limbs, jumping up and down until the very last note.

The next song started playing and Will felt nervous. He could not, for the love of him, sing ‘Can’t fight this feeling’ to Mike. It held way too much meaning.

“So, um about that campaign” He said bringing Mike’s attention to him and away from the song.

“Oh, uh yeah” He scratched the back of his head. “I kinda lied.” His nose wrinkled up.

“Why?” Will wasn’t sad about the campaign but rather confused as to why Mike lied. “I would’ve come anyway.”

“I- sorry that was stupid” Mike said, sitting down on the couch.

“Not stupid, pointless maybe.” He teased. He followed him on the couch.

“It’s just that we haven’t properly hang out in a long time, and I mean _we_ as in _you and me_ not the party. Not that I don’t wanna hang out with the others. It’s just that we- and I ugh” Mike started to get frustrated. He couldn’t phrase properly what he meant. Will placed his hand on top of Mike’s. Sliding it off as soon as he got his attention.

“I missed you too” He said softly. Mike smiled. They sat, their backs flat against the couch, head thrown back looking at the ceiling.

Their hands were so close on the couch, fingers almost touching. They stayed silent for at least 30 seconds. None of them daring to move. The song in the background became louder and louder in Will’s mind. _Quite fitting._ What Mike had said only minutes ago, echoed in his mind. After all, if Will had to describe or explain his feelings for Mike he’d give that song as an answer.

The silence became anxiety. Will begged in his mind for Mike to say something. He was about to break this heartbeat raising silence when he felt Mike’s thin fingers slowly overlapping his. He waited a couple of seconds before moving his towards him. Will’s heart beat for a total different reason but didn’t slowdown nonetheless.

And just like in a movie, their fingers intertwined at the very moment the chorus started. Like their hands, they became one. Their breathing and heartbeats synchronized with each other. Mike tightened his grip and Will responded by doing so, as well. Euphoria ran through their bodies, and drew the biggest smiles on their faces.

Mike turned his face to look at Will as a reassurance that this was real and not a dream. Will after fearing this was all a hallucination decided to look at him. He saw his best friend smile like he never saw him smile before. They probably looked so dumb beaming at each other but Will didn’t care. He felt all warm and fuzzy inside, he slid down the couch, smiling. Mike followed him and put his head on Will’s shoulder.

They stayed like this for the rest of the song, and the next one, and the next one. After about 20 minutes of comfortable silence they got back to talking. The conversation not mentioning their still linked hands or addressing the situation whatsoever.

He met Hopper on the way home. He parked his truck right next to his mom’s green car. He got off his bike as the sheriff got out his car.

“Hey, kiddo” He greeted him, opening the front door.

“Hi Hop!” He ran inside.

They came home right on time for dinner. Joyce was in the kitchen finishing to season the salad. El was setting the table. Will put his backpack on the floor and hung his coat next to Jim’s. He walked passed El, smiled at her, and entered the kitchen to greet his mom.

“Hi mom” He said happiness all over his face. “I’ll go help El for the table do you need me to do anything else?”

“Hi honey, um no I’m finished thank you” She sounded a bit surprised. He went back to El and finished setting the table, humming a song while doing so. Joyce and Jim shared a look, both clueless of why he was acting so weird.

“Someone’s in a good mood” Jim said, looking at an almost dancing Will. He turned to Joyce. “Where was he coming back from? I met him in the way home.” He asked.

“Mike’s” Joyce simply answered. She picked up the salad bowl and brought it on the table.

“I see” Jim nodded.

Joyce wasn’t the best cook in the world but she tried. Her cooking skilled improve a lot since Hopper and El moved in. Jim was actually really good at cooking and Joyce picked up on some cooking techniques.

After everyone was finished Jim proposed to do the dishes, which no one disagreed to. The parents planed on watching tv for the evening but El and Will had other things in mind. They went back to El’s bedroom.

“Okay, what do we start with?” Will said. She went to her desk and picked up a green pen. She put it flat against the wooden desk.

“Try to make it levitate.” She said.

He looked at it, lying there. He got a bit closer. He took a deep breath and concentrated. He focused his entire mind on it. He even tried to put his hand in the air like she did. Nothing. It did not move an inch.

“I can’t” Will said, his arm falling.

“Try to visualize it floating, like it’s the only thing you want.” She encouraged him, not to give up.

Will tried again. Following her advice. He closed his eyes again. He felt energy around him. The more he concentrated the more he felt it. At one point he realized that the energy was actually coming from him. It felt like a halo all around him. He was so used to darkness that light coming from him felt unfamiliar. He opened his eyes to check if the pen was floating. He couldn’t see because of how bright the room had become. His eyes adjusted, the pen was still on the desk but the room stayed brighter than it usually was. Will looked around and saw El looking between him and the three lights in the room. He fully came back to himself and stopped concentrating. The three lights faded to come back to their usual amount of glow.

Will felt drained. Blood ran down his nostrils. El handed him a tissue. He wiped his nose and sat down in her desk chair. The door opened and Hopper entered looking alerted.

“El what’s going on? The lights went crazy in the lounge and in the kitchen” He said.

“That… wasn’t me” El couldn’t lie. Sometimes to protect others she would, but she avoided hiding the truth. Jim’s eyes went from El to Will who held a blooded tissue. He weakly smiled. Then Hopper said.

“You have-

-POWERS!?” Dustin shouted.

“Sshhh, stop shouting” Will said, nervously looking around them.

“How did you find out?” Mike asked.

“He made the lights go crazy in the entire house” El said excitedly.

“Can you show us?” Max asked curious.

“Not in here” Will responded.

“Do you also bleed like El?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah” Will nodded.

The conversation went on like that for the next 10 minutes. Random question followed by a quick response by either El or Will, mainly Will. After the bell rang, the went their way to their class. Mike followed Will and put his headphones on Will’s head. He recognized the mixtapes he gave Mike the other day. ‘Don’t you (forget about me)’ currently playing.

“You like it?” Will said a bit too loud. He took off the headphones and gave them back to Mike. “Sorry”

“I love it actually. I listened to it all yesterday.” Mike said smiling. They walked close to each other; their hands sometimes bumping into each other, and once or twice one of them would linger the touch. They didn’t even notice or acknowledge Lucas and Max walking behind them.

“All of it! There are like one and a half hour worth of songs on there.” Will said looking at Mike.

“Oh I know” Mike responded. They were so caught up in their conversation that it only struck Will that they were headed to geography.

“Mike you don’t have geography with me…” Will frowned and his eyes narrowed.

“No why?” Mike was clueless.

“Because we’re Friday and I have geography class first period”

“Oh shit, um Friday, yeah Advanced English, got it bye” He almost went to kiss Will’s cheek but chickened out at the last moment, then left running. Will laughed. “Idiot” He whispered.

Electrokinesis was what Dustin called it. After Will showed the party what he could do, Dustin helped him research information on the subject. El helped him by training. He’d also do it by himself but found more motivation by doing it with someone. Once he learned how to control it and manage his energy, they tried other things.

El had more than one powers, and Will had been able to travel in the void as well. Their search material was primarily comic books. Who could blame them? They were still kids in a way and all they knew about superpowers came from there. Lucas had made a list of characters with electrokinesis or powers along those lines. From there they tried all the other powers those characters had. It turned out to be a good idea because that’s how they discovered that he could influence the weather. Mainly make it rain or create a small storm.

He could also control electronics, which was convenient to turn on and off the radio or the tv. He was basically a walking remote. He could also connect his mind to certain channel or amplify signals.

All those discoveries took place throughout a week, and at the weekend that followed left Will alone in the house. Joyce and Hopper decided to go on a romantic weekend in a lake house three hours away from Hawkins, for their anniversary. With El at Max’s for a sleepover and Jonathan still in college, Will was on his own.

Mike had suggested a sleepover but as always Will refused. It had started to raise Mike’s suspicions. Will always insisted on not staying, saying he didn’t want to bother, or that he slept better at his house; which obviously were lies. This time he pretexted to have homework he had to work on.

He ate his microwaved diner sat alone watching some boring shows on television. It was quite sad actually; being all alone. He made the light brighter, trying to make the place feel more alive. But it still felt cold.

He had been so happy this past week. So happy that he could almost forget the nightmares. Almost. They always came back at night. But they seemed to be less scary as time passed. Will thought that maybe they finally grew on him and that meant that he could potentially have a good night of sleep soon.

He didn’t.

He was trapped in his mind again. This endless circle of darkness and feeling trapped. The feeling of pure cold through his body. The line between reality and his mind had become almost nonexistent.

Mike having the starring role this time. Sometimes by being the victim of his nightmares, or sometimes, and frankly Will couldn’t tell which was worse, by acting as his nightmares.

Will told himself that it wasn’t Mike speaking. It wasn’t his voice he was hearing. It wasn’t his words cutting scars in his heart. It wasn’t his spit hitting his face. It wasn’t his hands pushing him to the ground. It wasn’t his feet kicking his ribs. But as his vision blurred, so did the truth and he started to believe it.

The nightmare went back and forth for hours. From seeing Mike getting tortured, to being tortured by Mike, to watching Mike getting tortured to-

Will for the first time in such a long agonizing time woke up screaming. It kind of felt therapeutic but he couldn’t tell at the time. He had contained himself for so long that he kept on screaming and crying for five minutes. Warm almost burning tears against his frozen cheeks.

He clenched his fists in the bedsheets and kept the covers so close to his torso. He wanted to pull his eyes out to stop the tears. He screamed so loud he swore he felt his ear-drum vibrate. He let out so much of untold feeling he broke a couple of light bulbs.

When he stopped shouting. The silence was almost deafening. His wet eyelashes met his wet cheeks and his chest rose slowly. That’s when it clicked. He didn’t want to be alone. He felt so scared, even awake. He suddenly had the urge to be held and comforted. Without thinking about it twice he grabbed his Supercom and sat on the bed.

A couple of years ago he wouldn’t have been able to reach him. He lived too far away. But now that wasn’t a problem anymore. Will concentrated, which considering the circumstances was pretty hard to do, to amply the signals of his Supercom for it to reach Mike’s. He felt so weak, so were his words through the machine.

“Mike…” It almost came out as a whisper. “Mike… it’s Will… really… you” Will was drained, he barely had any energy left so the signal kept breaking. ”… -ease … up… Mike” Will was about to give up when Mike finally picked up.

“Will is… you? …-at’s wrong?”

“Please come.” With those last words Will stopped broadcasting his message. He fell back, his head hitting the pillow.

Mike had no idea of what happened. He only knew one thing Will needed him. He didn’t care that it was 3:27am. He got up, took his shoes and coat and hopped on his bike. One the way to Will’s house, a lot went through Mike’s mind. _Did Will get attacked? Was the Mind Flayer back? Was Will hurt?_ When the house came in sight, he almost tripped getting off his bike. He knocked on Will’s window first then went up to the front door to keep pounding.

The door opened. _By itself_. That was new. Mike entered threw his coat and shoes on the floor. He saw smithereens of light bulbs everywhere next to the lamps. He felt anxiety build in his stomach. He ran to Will’s bedroom; the door was already opened. He almost didn’t want to go in, scared of what he might find.

What he actually found was Will throwing himself in Mike’s arms. He was shaking and sweating yet felt so cold. Automatism took over. He hugged him so tight, brought his hands up Wills hair, his cheek against the trembling boy’s temple. Will clenched his fists in Mike’s pajamas shirt. He could feel his nails dig in his shoulders, not caring if it left a mark. Will pushed forward and held onto Mike like his life depended on it.

“Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.” Will said in the crook of Mike’s neck.

“I’m not going anywhere” Mike’s hands slid up and downs Will’s back calming him down. They stayed like that for a moment. Their bodies slightly rocking from right to left.

Mike pulled away just enough to see Will’s face. He placed his hand on his left cheek, and wiped away tears with his thumb. Will melted in his touch, closing his eyes. Mike took his hands and led them to the bed. He laid Will down bringing the covers up to his chest. He pulled away and Will first instinct in his worried and scared state, was to grab Mike’s wrist.

“Hey…, I’m coming back. I’m just getting you some water.” Mike spoke softly. Will nodded and slowly loosened his grip, letting him go. Mike walked to the kitchen. Will turned his head to the window noticing the rain. He wondered if Mike had to bike all the way here under the rain, but he didn’t look or felt wet.

Mike came back with the water he closed the door behind him. He put the glass down, on the bedside table. Will suddenly felt thirsty, like his throat had become sand. He drank half of it in exactly three seconds. Mike watched him swallow the water, sat beside him, on the bed.

“Stay the night. Please.” Will asked.

“Of course” Mike didn’t even think about it. Just like he didn’t think about getting a sleeping bag. He automatically slid in the covers next to Will, which was exactly what he needed right now. Closeness, comfort, warmth and… love.

For a second, they were lying next to each other only their sides touching. It felt a little bit awkward. The bed wasn’t that big but not too small either. They could fit both. However, it wasn’t the most comfortable position.

“Do you want me to-”

“Just hold me please” Will said quickly; interrupting him. Mike did as he was told and put his arm around the boy. Will immediately felt safer. Will curled up into Mike. His head on his chest, the beating of his heart calming him down. Their legs intertwined. They were like two jigsaw pieces, fitting perfectly into each other like they were made to. Like their body were made based of each other’s.

Mike tightened his embrace to press their bodies closer. Will buried his face in the crook of his neck and nuzzled in the warmth. He hadn’t feel this at peace in a very long time. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt this way. Steady breathing against his neck, Mike got a little nervous. Every breath sending shivers down his spine. To stop himself from thinking about it too much, Mike found something to keep his mind busy. He brought his hands to Will’s head and ran his fingers through chestnut hair.

“Is this okay?” He whispered.

“Very” Will said. They stayed like that for a moment. Mike thought Will had fallen asleep until he felt him move, his body was shaking, he was crying again.

“Shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” Mike ran his hands on his back then heard Will mumble something near his ear.

“Mike… I can’t stand the thought of losing you.” Will sobbed. Hearing this broke Mike’s heart. His best friend was in his arms sobbing. How could he had let this happen? Why didn’t he pick up on Will’s behavior sooner?

“Hey, you’re not gonna loose me. It was just a bad dream” His hand was on his cheek, his thumb wiping the tears away. Will was so terrified that this could be the beginning of yet another nightmare.

“How do I know this is real?” He looked at his face. “How do I know _you’re_ real?” Their eyes met, watching each other like they were looking directly at the other’s soul. Only looking away to get a glimpse of lips.

“I’m real.” Mike held Will’s face. He felt his own heart beat in his ear and if he paid enough attention he could feel Will’s as well. He leaned in so their noses could touch. The tip of his nose caressed Will’s. “And so is this.” And with one final movement forward their lips collided. Their eyes closed almost immediately. Mike’s hand moved to the back of Will’s neck and brought him closer.

Will felt his heart explode in his chest. Firework of feelings finally allowed to exist outside of his mind. The kiss felt like a breath of fresh air. Like Mike’s lips were the oxygen Will needed, to keep living. Paradoxically, their lips moved together until Will noticed that he wasn’t breathing. Mike pulled away briefly, nuzzled Will’s nose, making him understand that he had to breathe through his nose. It seemed logic but this was technically his first kiss.

After they both caught their breath, Mike kissed him a second time. The boy beneath him let out the tiniest whimper and Mike took it as a greenlight to deepen the kiss. He took his bottom lip between his own, bit down softly, enough to make Will’s mouth open a little bit wider. He slid his tongue inside and kissed him passionately. This new foreign sensation drove Will crazy. He brought his hands in Mike’s hair and clenched his fist in his dark locks. He wasn’t expecting Mike’s reaction. It being a moan and shaky breathing against his cheek. Euphoria ran through Will’s veins.

He smiled against Mike’s lips, who pulled away, breathing heavily. Will kept his eyes closed. He didn’t want to open them to find that Mike regretted what they had done. The only sound in the room was their breathing slowing down. When he finally decided to open his eyes, he was relieved to find Mike lovingly staring at him. Will couldn’t believe his eyes. He hadn’t felt so alive for god knows when.

They didn’t talk. They didn’t have to. Simply staring at each other was enough. After studying carefully Will’s pupils Mike brought their bodies together on last time before sleep took over both of them.

Moonlight became sunlight, bright warmth caressing their silhouettes in the sheets. Mike was the first one to wake up. He had thought about going to the kitchen and making them breakfast. But then he looked at Will’s sleeping face and instead decided to stay in bed to stare at him. He was beautiful.

Mike had always found him pretty, but not to the point where his heart would beat at such an unsteady rhythm, until a couple of years back. The triggering point probably was Will’s disappearance, when they were 13. The thought of losing him and the idea that he’d have to live the rest of his life without him by his side was soul crushing. Then he came back and it felt like his heart could finally go back to make him feel alive.

The relationship he and Will had since they were little, had always been different from any other he had with anyone. As they grew older it became clearer that what they had should only be between them, hidden from the rest of the world.

Mike tried so hard to hide it that he ended up hiding it from himself as well and slowly started to be distant. He quit playing d&d, started properly dating El and avoided at all cost being alone with Will. He was so scared that old habits would resurface.

Although, sometimes they did. He’d unconsciously put his arm around Will’s shoulder, take his hands to lead him somewhere or that one time, at the cinema, where Will’s pinky finger accidentally brushed against his and Mike instinctively intertwined them.

Mike felt Will move on his torso. The boy stretched his legs, and hit Mike’s lower stomach. He yawned, hugged Mike tighter and sighed, face buried in his neck. Mike was now aware that he had to get up although he didn’t want to, he needed to.

“Will” He said softly, voice raspy from the sleep. “Are you awake?” He asked.

“No” Will replied, sounding barely awake. Mike chucked.

“Will, I need to pee” Mike insisted. Will rose his head, with one eye closed he looked at Mike. The soft look on he wore made Will let out shaky breath. Last night wasn’t a dream, he was real. Mike tried to move which reminded Will of how their body were pressed together. _Did I sleep on him the entire night?_ He thought. He felt heat waves through his body and his ears starting to heat up.

“Fine” He fake groaned, lifting his body. He watched Mike get up and gave him a smile, he ruffled his hair, heading towards the bathroom.

Will fell back on the pillow and used the covers to hide his flushed face. He stayed under the covers a moment before he decided to get up. He heard Mike flushing the toilet then saw him come back to the room.

“You hungry?” He asked from the door frame.

“Uh, yeah” Will said. He followed Mike to the kitchen. Mike sat on the counter while Will looked through the cupboards.

“So, chef Byers what’s on the menu on this fine Sunday morning?” Mike playfully asked. Will chuckled.

“I can make pancake?” It came out more like a question.

“You can?” He sounded surprised.

“I mean Jonathan showed me once, but I never actually tried it myself…”

“How about I make us scrambled eggs?” He got off the counter and walked towards the fridge, grabbing the eggs.

“That’s probably a better idea, yeah” Will said.

Mike turned out to be a pretty good cook. He probably learned from his mom. This woman was the best cook in all Hawkins. Will had always loved it when he got to stay the night and eat dinner with the Wheelers.

They ate in silence, except for Will complimenting Mike’s cooking skills every five minutes. After they finished their eggs, Will got up to clear their plates. He put them in the sink to wash later. He was about to turn around when he felt arms around his waist. He froze, the fork fell from his hand and hit the plate.

He inhaled quite sharply when he felt Mike’s lips against his nape. Shivers ran across his back when Mike actually placed a kiss there. He breathed deeply and his whole body relaxed. He tilted his head and felt a second kiss, this time lower and closer to his shoulder. Then another and another, Will turned around faster than his heartbeat and caught Mike’s lips. Grabbing onto his shirt bringing him down.

Kissing in the daylight felt different. Still enjoyable and mind blowing, but different. It felt like they were more vulnerable, more likely to be caught. They kissed until their lips turned crimson and their lungs felt empty. Will pulled away, hands still clutching onto the taller boy’s shirt. Suddenly insecurities came back haunting him.

“Mike I need to know if this is real…” He looked at his hands, avoiding Mike’s gaze.

“It is Will” Mike took Will’s face between his hands. Hoping touch would make him realize it was reality.

“No, I mean,” He looked up, locking their eyes. “I mean _this_ , **us** ” He whispered the last word feeling self-conscious for even saying it out loud. His eyes made movements from eyes to lips. Mike felt his heart sink.

“Of course!” Mike said. “I thought I made it clear, last night, that I like you” Mike looked at the floor and bit his lips.

“Right, I’m sorry” Will shook his head, eyes closed.

“Hey, no, don’t apologize!” Mike said, lifting Will’s chin to look at him.

“I like you too by the way” Will was expecting his heart to go wild but it didn’t. It stayed steady. Because he felt comfortable. Mike made him feel comfortable.

“I-I like you too” Mike said then instantly felt stupid repeating himself. It made Will smile and even chuckle.

“Do you want to watch a movie or something?” Will asked.

“Only if I can kiss you on the couch” Mike said, smirking. He placed his hands on the counter trapping Will between his arms.

“Okay, Romeo” Will said, moving his arm to go under and led them to the living room.

They spent the afternoon watching movie they knew by heart, -mostly trying to get quotes right and recreating the dialogues- cuddling on the couch. A kiss here and there, but apart from that they remained the same. Throwing popcorns at each other while making fun of the characters being stupid at some point in the movie.

Mike was so caught up in making Will feel happy and at the same time making himself happy, that he forgot to phone his mom to tell her that he was at Will’s. While the boys were living the best afternoon in their life, Karen was worrying as to where her son had gone.

They were in their third movie when the phone in the kitchen rang. Will got up to answer and was surprised to hear Karen’s voice. After being informed that her son was there she demanded to speak to him. Will could hear Ms. Wheeler’s voice yelling at Mike through the phone. He apologized and promised to be home for dinner.

The credits of the fourth film scrolled down the screen. They stopped paying attention twenty minutes ago, deciding that cuddling was more interesting. A single blanket covering them. Holding hands, playing with hair, hugging, sharing warmth, kiss.

The front door opened, with no warning.

“-ha ha, very funny.” They both recognized Hopper’s sarcastic tone. He entered the house with two suitcases in his arms, heading to the bedroom. They pulled away and sat up as fast as they could.

“I’m just sayin- oh, hi boys.” Joyce entered the house with a bag of groceries in her hands. She walked to the dining room and placed the bag on the table. “Will, you should’ve told me you were having a sleepover I would’ve bought diner or left you money for pizza.” They looked at each other hoping an answer was hiding in the other’s pupil.

“Well, it was kinda last minute” Will said. At last El came in, carrying a bag as well, and closed the door behind her.

“Is Mike here? I saw his bike outside.” El said. She turned around and saw the boys on the couch. “Oh. I guess he is” She smiled hello and brought the bag to Joyce.

“I’m leaving actually” Mike said standing up.

“You are?” Will said under his breath. Mike looked down at Will’s face.

“You’re not staying for dinner?” Joyce asked almost at the same time, sorting the food items.

“No I told my mom I’d be back for dinner” He answered. Will stood up and followed Mike to the door. He put his shoes and coat on saying goodbye to everyone. He opened the door and headed outside.

“See you tomorrow at school” He was about to hop on his bike but Will stopped him. After looking and closing the door behind him, he made Mike face him and kissed him one last time.

“See you tomorrow” He said then watched Mike leave. He slipped and almost fell off his bike, screaming ‘I’m okay’ before continuing to bike away until he was out of sight.

It took approximatively two and a half second for the party to realize there had been an upgrade in Will and Mike’s relationship. However, the boys, in their total obliviousness state, thought they were doing a great job at behaving normally. Which they were, except for the stolen kisses when they thought no one was watching, the intense yet quick making out session in the school bathroom or in the closet at Mike’s house, not even mentioning the now recurring sleepovers.

He now allowed himself to stay over at his friends’ for movie nights. Sleeping right next to Mike made him less scared of being caught waking up in the middle of the night. As soon as he woke up Mike would immediately hold him and sooth him back to sleep avoiding bothering their friends. After a couple of weeks, they started to sense that their friends might have found out about them. They got the confirmation one morning after a sleepover at the Wheeler’s.

That morning they had slept in late. The others were up while the lovebirds were cuddling in their shared sleeping bag. Will hugging Mike like a koala on a tree. Dustin, El, Lucas and Max staring at them.

“Shall we wake them up?” Lucas asked, sat legs crossed, next to Max who was still lying down.

“But they look so peaceful” Max said getting up on her elbows. They all shared a look. She wore a mischievous smile while getting up, walking towards the curtains blocking the sunlight. She opened them loudly.

“MORNING!” She said loudly. Both Mike and Will jumped awake. Mike’s first instinct being throwing an arm around his boyfriend.

Brightness blinding them and confusion on their face they slowly got back to reality and detached themselves from one another. Silence installed itself in the room while Will anxiously tried to find an excuse. He swallowed.

“I-I got really cold a-and Mike’s pretty warm an-”

“Could you cut the bullshit and admit you’re dating already” Dustin interrupted him, from the couch.

El sat on the floor tried her best not to burst into laugh. He could almost hear her laugh in his mind, which is when he realized how stupid it was. Of course their friends wouldn’t care. They were actually happy for them. Will had been conditioned his whole life to be scared of his feelings, that they were wrong -thanks to his dad and bullies at school- that he almost believed it at some point.

“Were we that obvious?” Mike asked his hand rubbing his neck, sore from sleeping on the floor.

“Dude! you were that obvious even before you started dating!” Lucas said hand gesturing at them. And with that they all laughed so hard.

Every time Will thought that he had reached the level of happiness to finally get rid of his nightmares, the night reminded him of how wrong he was. The more he dreamed the more frustrated he got. He just didn’t understand. Why did he keep having them?

He finally opened up to Mike about them, explaining every details and how he felt every time he woke up. They spent the night crying in each other’s arms. Will feeling relieved to get this out off of his chest after years and years of repression, but still insecure and scared on why they never went away; and Mike feeling miserable for not having done anything even though he didn’t know and felt sorry for not picking up on things.

Will thought that maybe opening up was the key and once he admitted the existence of his night terrors to someone they would go away and leave him alone. Needless to say it sadly wasn’t.

Will started to think his case was hopeless, but not Mike. He convinced him to talk about it to the others. Will was septic at first but after a couple of well-argued discussion, he gave in.

He didn’t go full graphic description for his friends but told enough to raise worry.

“And you’ve been having those ever since…” Max said.

“Since the upside down yeah.” He answered.

“Are they always the same ones?” Lucas asked in his turn. They room was so silent apart drom their voice.

“Mostly, although they became worse in a way” He looked at Mike remembering the shift in the pattern when Mike appeared in them. “The night El found out about it we woke up at the same time and”

“Wait wait” Mike cut Will and turned to El. “You knew?!” Mike raised his voice.

“I-”

“And you did nothing!” Mike screamed. The others were speechless.

“Mike…” Will said.

“I- I’m sorry I didn’t-” She shook her head, her eyes watering she just now realized that maybe she could’ve done something.

“You’re sorry! You’ve literally been in his head and you didn’t notice how bad it was?! You’re living with him; how did you not notice?” There he was, word vomiting again, feeling so mad that there was no filter. He was projecting his own failure onto her which wasn’t fair.

Will had told him about their psychic bond and how they could hear each other’s thoughts. Right now he couldn’t hear her mind but feel it. He felt a wave of sadness and remorse.

“Mike, stop!” Will screamed. Mike faced the boy and seeing his face tightened his throat. He looked back at El and noticed a tear rolling down her left cheek.

“I’m sorry, El. I shouldn’t have lashed out onto you” Mike apologized. His voice low soundinf sincere.

“It’s okay” El said. Smiling weakly she looked at Mike in the eyes letting him know that she forgave him. He smiled back then looked at the floor. The room fell back to silence for another minute.

“What did you mean when you said she’s been in his head?” Dustin asked.

“Oh yeah, um, they have this thing where they can read each other’s mind and stuff” Mike said.

“Pretty cool, huh” Will said looking at his friends smiling, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah” Max chuckled then nodded. El was quiet. She thought about what Mike had said before, then frowned. _In his head. In his head._

“That’s it!” She shouted. “In his head!” They all looked confused not following. “I could try going into his mind and see if I can… fix him”

“You could do that?” Will said breathing deeply. She looked at him in the eyes, held his gaze looking serious.

“I can do it” She confidently said. She had to.

They all went to Will’s room and sat in circle. El in front of Will and Mike on his right holding his hand. He used his powers to turn on his radio and El blind folded herself, statics and breathing being the only sound in the room.

They closed their eyes and they suddenly were the only ones in the bedroom except the room wasn’t a room anymore. It was pitch black all around them. They opened their eyes and the where standing in the void facing each other. She reached for him, placed his hand on his head. She felt his green eyes pierce her soul. Her head was about to explode when she felt her body sinking.

In the bedroom El jumped and her breathing accelerated.

All of a sudden he was gone and she was standing in the woods, pouring rain echoing. It was so dark, no stars in the sky. She walked backwards and felt a twig break under her foot. She turned around and saw Castle Byers, or what was left of it…

Dark smoke was surrounding it. She got closer and found a bat lying in a puddle. As she picked it up she could hear a masculine deep voice shouting. She didn’t recognize it but could understand clearly the words _. Useless fag, If I wanted a girl I would’ve adopted one._ The words hurt, but not as much as the pain she suddenly felt in her ribs, like someone was kicking her. It stopped as soon as she let go of the bat. She winced then kept walking.

She saw a shotgun entangled in blinking Christmas lights. The closer she got the faster the blinked and she could hear this weird noise. It was definitely inhuman but she couldn’t tell what it was exactly. She crouched to grab the gun in the lights but the bulbs exploded before she could touch it. She looked up and kept walking.

She got close enough to be surrounded by the smoke. It was getting hard to breathe. She felt the smoke going through her nose and mouth filling her lungs. Like the smoke had a mind of its own, traveling though her body. She brought her hands to her throat.

“El are you okay?” Max said worrying. El was clearly choking.

The smoke slowly but surely faded in her lungs, disappearing, leaving a taste of sadness in her heart. This feeling of emptiness amplifying as she got closer to the ruins.

“I’m okay”

She was right at the entrance. The castle was barely standing. She picked up a branch and put it back on the side. She looked at her feet and saw half of a picture. She went to pick it up but it flew away before she got the chance to look at it more carefully. Under it, on the floor there were a hammer and some nails in a box. She thought for a minute. She had never done it before but it could work. She picked up the hammer and made the nails float. She used her mind to raise the roof of the castle. She rearranged the branches and started hammering nails and building back the memory.

Before she took her blindfold off, she noticed it had stopped raining and the sun was rising. She came back to the bedroom panting. She searched the room for Will and found him sat on Mike’s lap clutching his shirt, crying on his shoulder. They were both exhausted and drained.

When the night came he felt nervous. He knew something had changed in him, he could feel it but was it enough? He had asked Mike to stay the night in case it didn’t work, so he won’t be alone. The went to bed at 10 pm. Mike soon fell asleep holding Will, but Will stayed awake for a while until sleep took over him.

Swings, a smile and a handshake. A radio, a brother and some new music. An arcade, bright orange and laughter. A shaved head then curls then a thought. A bike, a skateboard then flying. Freckles, warmth then sunlight.

Will opened his eyes. He felt his heat beat. The feeling of emptiness and darkness nowhere to be seen. He was shaking, glossy eyes looked at the boy in the sheets next to him. He sniffed and let out a breath. Mike awoke hearing him whimper.

“Hey, are you okay” Mike was expecting the worse. A single tear fell down Will’s check.

“Yes, It’s just that… I almost forgot what dreaming felt like” Will said his voice shaking.

Mike looked at him smiling, feeling and looking so relived. He took Will’s face and pressed their lips together, hard, which caught Will off guard, eyes wide for a second. He melted into the kiss, closing his eyes. He ran a hand through Mike’s messy morning hair and kissed him back. They pulled away and Will felt almost dizzy that he let words slip out his mouth.

“I love you” He sleepily said. Not processing what he said until he saw Mike beaming and felt his chest move, on top of his, as he breathed. He almost wanted to take it back but he didn’t need to.

“I love you too, Will” It was all it took for Will to feel his heart turn to fireworks sending euphoric wave of heat through his entire body.

And maybe, they might be more okay than they thought.

**Author's Note:**

> There we go! Some parts felt rushed and others too long i'm sorry I can't write. I felt so bad for puting Will trough all of this but i got him a happy ending, yay! I hate myself for ending it on 'i love yous' but it felt right??, idk. Anyway thank you for reading! I hope to write some more, it was fun!


End file.
